The cold emperor reigns supreme, the arrogant empress begs for a truce.

Chapter 59: Jealous

When Leng Yuling returned to her room, Leng Ruoxi had already gone back. Mo Zhen was sitting in a chair by the window reading a book. Hearing her open the door, he put down his book, looked up at her, and asked, "What does the Sage of Medicine want with you?"

"They asked about your concubine's health," Leng Yuling answered honestly, deliberately emphasizing the word "your."

She suddenly remembered that Mo Zhen had gone to great lengths to find Bai Xiaozi, traveling thousands of miles from Southern Chu to Northern Desert for Ma Zhiyun, and even went so far as to bring Bai Xiaozi back from Jun Ao's side.

“Yun’er has been in poor health since she was a child. I promised her that I would find a doctor to cure her illness.”

"I didn't say anything," Leng Yuling said sarcastically, unaware that she was bothered by seeing Mo Zhen being so nice to other women.

To put it bluntly, Leng Yuling was just jealous, jealous without even realizing it.

However, Mo Zhen looked at Leng Yuling and seemed somewhat satisfied with her reaction, but he did not show any emotion on his face.

"Since Ma Zhiyun is General Ma's daughter and your childhood sweetheart, why did you only make her a Noble Consort, while making me, someone who has no backing in Southern Chu and can't help you at all, the Empress?" Suddenly thinking of this, Leng Yuling asked.

She was genuinely curious. Based on her speculation, Mo Zhen's kindness towards Ma Zhiyun was not only due to her family's influence, but also to her own position in Mo Zhen's heart. The more she thought about it, the less she understood Mo Zhen's actions.

Thinking of something, she asked before Mo Zhen could speak, "Could it be that you used me as a decoy to prevent her from becoming a target for the other concubines in the harem?"

As she spoke, she looked at Mo Zhen, seemingly eager to hear his answer. If that were truly the case, she would feel incredibly pathetic—a time traveler reduced to a pawn and target for the ancients?

"What do you think?" Mo Zhen didn't answer, but asked in return.

Leng Yuling looked at Mo Zhen's serious expression, but couldn't discern any emotion in him. Even if Mo Zhen answered, she didn't know whether to believe him. Fortunately, he didn't answer.

Perhaps, not answering is the best response.

There are some things that Leng Yuling would rather see how he does than hear his answer in person.

If he really only saw her as a target, she would naturally have her own way of resisting. In the end, their cooperation was simply a matter of mutual need.

However, thinking about this made her feel uneasy.

-

The next morning, after Leng Yuling went downstairs, she saw Mo Zhen and the others already sitting at the table, waiting for her to have breakfast together.

She yawned casually before slowly sitting down next to Mo Zhen. She glanced at the food on the table and found it quite appetizing.

"Breakfast looks pretty good today." As she spoke, she picked up her chopsticks, took a bite of food, and nodded with satisfaction. "It tastes very good too."

“Elder sister, these are dishes I made myself. If you like them, I will make them for you every day from now on,” Leng Ruoxi, who was sitting opposite Leng Yuling, suddenly said.

Upon hearing this, Leng Yuling paused in her work. She never expected that it was Leng Ruoxi who made it, and she was even more surprised that Leng Ruoxi, the daughter of a prime minister, had such excellent cooking skills.

Leng Yuling put down her chopsticks and gestured for Ziyan to pour her a glass of water. She took a small sip before saying, "The food is quite to my liking, but you are my sister. Once we arrive in Nan Chu, you will be a guest of Nan Chu. How can I let you cook?"

Leng Yuling's words were neither warm nor cold, and there was no indication of any closeness between her and Leng Ruoxi as sisters. Instead, there was a hint of indifference in her tone.

"Miss Ruoxi's cooking skills are very good, but I still prefer the food you make, Xiaoling." As he spoke, Bai Xiaozi picked up a side dish in front of him and put it in his mouth.

But a seemingly casual remark caught everyone's attention, and they couldn't help but look at Leng Yuling. Mo Xuan became even more curious: "Sister-in-law, besides taking pulses and treating illnesses, you can actually cook?"

He was clearly incredulous, or rather, surprised and taken aback.

"Why can't I cook? Besides, does my ability to cook mean I have to let the whole world know?" Leng Yuling raised her head arrogantly. However, she wasn't very good at cooking, or rather, she was more skilled at Western food and desserts.

If Bai Xiaozi hadn't told her, she wouldn't have known the reason. The original owner was a skilled cook. Fortunately, she is now the empress of a country and doesn't need to cook, otherwise she would have been exposed.

"When will you let us taste your cooking?" Mo Xuan leaned closer to Leng Yuling and asked curiously.

The next moment, Leng Yuling pushed him away, saying with displeasure, "As the Empress, why should I cook for you? You're overthinking it."

She pushed Mo Xuan away without hesitation, saying things she knew would offend people. However, Mo Xuan already understood her temperament and didn't care. After all, he didn't think Leng Yuling's cooking skills were that good.

Looking at Leng Yuling, she didn't seem like someone who had grown up in the countryside; instead, she seemed like a pampered young lady.

What they didn't know was that although the original owner of this body had lived a poor life in the countryside since childhood, she wasn't. In the 21st century, Leng Yuling came from a well-off family but also lived like a little princess from a young age, being pampered and spoiled. She was a little princess without any princess syndrome.

After Leng Yuling spoke, no one continued the topic and just kept eating.

"I wonder if Your Majesty still enjoyed today's breakfast?" After breakfast, Leng Ruoxi asked Mo Zhen cautiously.

The latter was taken aback at first, wondering why Leng Ruoxi was asking her alone, but she nodded: "It's not much worse than the imperial chefs in the palace."

Mo Zhen was only somewhat polite to her because she was Leng Yuling's half-sister, even though he knew that Leng Yuling didn't particularly like this half-sister.

"Then I am relieved." Leng Ruoxi breathed a sigh of relief, as she was afraid that Mo Zhen would not like the food she cooked.

Mo Zhen glanced at her and then said, "Since you are Ling'er's sister, you don't need to do cooking anymore. Just let the palace servants do it."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Leng Ruoxi gave a slight curtsy before saying, "If Your Majesty... if Your Majesty and my elder sister like to eat this, Ruoxi will cook it for you every day." Originally, she wanted to say that if Mo Zhen liked to eat this, she would be willing to cook for him every day, but when she saw someone walking over out of the corner of her eye, she changed her mind.

"Whatever you like." Mo Zhen said only lightly, then fell silent and walked towards Leng Yuling. "Have you finished eating?"

As soon as Leng Yuling left the table, she saw Leng Ruoxi and Mo Zhen chatting alone, so she walked over, only to hear Leng Ruoxi trying to please Mo Zhen again.

She glanced at Mo Zhen, her expression seemingly sarcastic, and said, "Prime Minister Leng didn't send you to Southern Chu just to cook for us."

Leng Ruoxi was taken aback, unsure if Leng Yuling knew something, and dared not speak further. She simply lowered her head and said softly, "This is what Ruoxi should do."

Leng Yuling glanced at her, said nothing more, and walked straight towards the room.